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Jason Heyward Offers Impact on Defense in the Outfield and Other Bullets

Uh oh. The time has arrived that I need to publish the Bullets, and I have absolutely nothing for this top space right here. Quick, Brett: find a cheesy, funny animal meme. Perfect.

Patrick Mooney writes about Jason Heyward’s future with the Cubs in center field, and it’s a really good, comprehensive take. There is little reason to be concerned about Heyward’s ability to translate his speed, quickness, arm, and reads to center field. Maybe he won’t be the super elite guy he is in right field, but he can be, at a minimum, very, very good. Further, with Joe Maddon at the helm and with so much versatility on the roster, my guess is Heyward still makes quite a few appearances in right field this year (especially if the Cubs carry a defensively-inclined center fielder like Matt Szczur or sign someone like Austin Jackson). Either way, the Heyward signing was a fantastic move by this front office, even if some other execs aren’t going to give it love.

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I swooned when I read this quote from Heyward in there: “On defense, I can affect the game every pitch. But on offense, I only get one (key) at-bat or (it) comes around only so many times a game. On defense, there are 27 outs you need to make in nine innings to win a ballgame. And I’m not asleep for any of those.” What a perfect attitude for defense, eh? You can impact the game every single time the pitcher throws the ball. You just have to be ready to make that difference. Even though offense is obviously hugely important, those times are fewer, regular, and predictable.

Rian Watt takes a look at the changes in Javier Baez’s swing rates from 2014 to 2015 by zone, and it’s pretty remarkable some of the changes, including down in the zone. Anecdotally, I’d add: remember how much he was getting eaten alive by high fastballs in 2014? Felt like that was a lot less of an issue in 2015, though that may not have been fewer swings so much as a shortened swing.

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Have you seen the Amazon commercial with Alec Baldwin and Jason Schwartzman, and Baldwin asks his Echo device to order him a new pair of fancy socks? I saw it this morning and I got curious just how pricey those fancy socks are – $200 a pair. Wow. So I looked at the reviews, because I figured they would have to be hilarious, and sure enough, there’s this beauty of a review. Just one of many examples.

The Pirates knocked it out of the park with their Sunday alternates this year, throwing it back to their World Series season in 1979:

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